Breast Lift Before and After

May 10, 2012

A breast lift (mastopexy) is designed to elevate the position of the breast and nipple. Like the name suggests, the idea is to ‘lift the whole breast upward’. It won’t make your breasts larger or project more forward. This is what a breast augmentation does. If your boobs have lost volume and are drooping, then both these procedures can be combined to make them bigger and perkier. This will give you a nice shape in and out of the bra. The sag usually comes with age, after having children or from weight loss. It’s not an appealing look and certainly makes you believe you’re losing your youth. You just hope they won’t sag any lower to avoid looking those indigenous African women you see in old documentaries.

You can try some exercises to naturally lift your breasts however these don’t really help much. These days you can potentially hide ptotic breasts by using chicken fillets and wonder bras. They will give you a temporary lift, but won’t help you once you take the garment off in the bedroom. Even those Ahh bras help to disguise breast droop, but the secret is out once again after you undress. If you’re scared about losing too much weight and getting saggy boobs, then you can just get liposuction to remove those last few pounds and hopefully avoid a breast lift. It is always better to try and lose weight naturally rather than relying on surgery. Ask your doctor how to go about this properly.

Before and after photo

Photo #1

Letitia had severely sagging breasts. Being only 38 years old, she felt her youth was being compromised because of the way her breasts drooped. She’d had two pregnancies and didn’t plan on having more children so she decided to get a lift. She had enough tissue to not need implants.

Why do breasts sag?

Up until very recently (2006), no one knew for sure why breasts actually sagged. Many people, including doctors, believed it was because the bosoms couldn’t support itself and that wearing a bra kept them up. Many also thought that breastfeeding accelerated the downward trend but this is not true. Women’s breasts sag naturally as they age. There are factors which speed up the process. Smoking cigarrettes is a major contributor. Other factors which affect the rate of ptosis include the woman’s body mass index (BMI), how many pregnancies she’s had and how big her breasts were before the pregnancy.

Putting on weight increases your breast size but also stretches your skin’s elasticity, contributing to the droop. Maintaining a healthy body weight is agood idea if you wish to avoid (or at least postpone) mastopexy surgery down the track. Unfortunately, there are causes which you don’t have any control over (your genes). How quickly your chest starts heading south is also determined by your inherited breast size, skin elasticity and the proportions of your adipose and glandular tissue.

Before the procedure

There’s lots of hype and puffery out there about lotions and potions being able to improve your breasts. Just be aware that what you apply to the outside skin can never alter the size, shape or droop of your breasts. This can only be changed from the inside by an operation or hormones (like how the size fluctuates throughout your menstrual cycle). Exercises to tone your pectoral muscle can be a way to slightly lift and enhance the breasts. However, you are only likely to gain a half inch lift and/or a 3/4 inch projection. It’s not much and definitely won’t satisfy those with severe ptosis.

Doing special push-ups is just one of those recommended exercises. On your knees and palms, stretch one leg out behind you, toes pointed. Lower your front toward the floor (shoulders in line with hands). Do this several times and then change legs. Another one is the palm press, which is done by pressing the palms firmly together in front of the chest, holding for five seconds and then relaxing. Repeat this 10 times. The forearm grip is where you grasp your forearms in front of you (shoulder level) and pull without letting go. Also repeated 10 times. The finger lock is similar. Curling your fingers, lock them together at shoulder height. Pull and hold for five seconds, also repeated 10 times.

If you are considering surgery, your plastic surgeon will take you through the options. If your breasts are too large or small, the operation can be combined with an augmentation or reduction. Where the breasts are very large a breast reduction is required anyway. Without removing some of the bulk, gravity will just pull the breasts down again after the operation.

Risks

There is a risk you will be unsatisfied with the results. You need to be aware a lift procedure can never take back the time and restore your perky teenage boobs. Without implants, they may still lack volume after the procedure and you will have scars. Usually the scarring is around the areolae, then vertically down and along the inframammary fold (IMF). Have the surgeon draw on you to indicate where the scarring will be position on your breasts. Depending on the technique used, you may not be able to breastfeed following a breast lift. Ask your surgeon about what techniques can be used to keep this function intact. Usually, you’ll be able to nurse unless the ducts are cut. Most women however wait until they’ve had all their babies before getting the girls lifted back up again.

Another side effect may include losing sensation in your nipples and/or areolae. This complication doesn’t deter many women from having the operation. Losing your erotic zones can be upsetting, but you need to think about what’s worth more to you. Perhaps you could rely on nipple clamps or other ‘fun’ toys to excite you in the bedroom if loss of sensation does occur. Getting an infection is another risk associated with any surgery. This can be treated with antibiotics. If you’ve had breast implants inserted as part of the surgery, there’s always a risk of capsular contracture which is more severe.

Recovery time

You’ll need to return to your doctor to have your stitches removed after two weeks. If you’re an active person, after about three weeks you’ll be able to fully move your arms and shoulders and you should be able to return to exercising and sports at this stage.

After the procedure

When a part of the body is cut open and operated on, you will always have pain and swelling to deal with afterwards. You can be given prescirption medication to deal with the discomfort. To support your breasts, you will need to wear a bra day and night for at least three months after the operation. It may be best to book your breast lift at the start of winter so you don’t miss out on the swimming season. The support bra will help the healing process and will support the inflamed breast tissues and skin. If everything goes well, you won’t usually need a follow up appointment. However, many doctors still like to see their patients after the three month period just to make sure everthing’s healing properly.

Don’t expect to have lifted breasts for the rest of your life. The operation does not give you permanent results. Your breasts will continue to age and therefore will start to droop again. If you’ve had tissue or fat removed as part of the procedure, then the sag won’t come as quick than if you had left it in place. Most of these oeprations go extremely well, with women being very satisfied with their look. They have more confidence and are even able to wear tops without a bra.

Cost

The cost of a breast lift will set you back around $6,000 to $9,000 including the surgeon fees (which average around $4,300), the facility fees and anesthesia. Insurance companies do not cover any costs because it’s deemed to be a cosmetic procedure. This is even though the sag may diminish your self esteem and impact on your daily activities. Because every woman’s breast are bound to droop, the risk of the insurance company paying out would be almost 100%. You will need to buy comfortable support bras to wear afterwards. These can range between $30 and $90. You should buy at least two to alternate because you’ll need to wear one 24/7.

Opinions

I’ve always had larger than average breasts but after having my two boys, they really started to sag. Not even wonder bras would help push them up and I just looked silly trying to create a decent cleavage out of these things. The nipples pointed downwards towards the floor and were about two inches below the crease. My husband said they’re fine but you just know as a woman when you don’t look right. It’s like asking “does my ass look big in this?” when you know it does. My doc was really good throughout the whole op. I was always able to ring the clinic about any concerns and they were always there to help. It really makes a difference when you have support after an operation like that. I didn’t get implants so my booms just look normal and not like bolt ons.

Submitted by Julie-May on May 9, 2012

YouTube video

This YouTube video shows Dr David Kim taking his patient, Wendy, through the whole breast lift process. Wendy’s had two children and felt uncomfortable with her body. She decided to get mastopexy combined with silicone breast implants to make sure she still looks natural after the surgery. Because her boobs were severely saggy, Wendy needed a full lift with the anchor scar. Toward the end of the video, you can see before and after shots which look amazing.

More before and after photos

Photo #2

Fiona’s ptosis wasn’t severe, however she still wanted a little bit of rejuvenation in the area. She’d never given birth but her breasts had started to sag with age.

Photo #3

Being only 37, Libby was very unhappy with the way her boobs looked. She found it difficult to properly fit into a bra. Wearing low cut tops was embarrassing for her. The operation made a huge difference and she did not need an augmentation for her chest to look beautiful and flattering again.

Photo #4

Debra had lost a lot of weight after enduring RPM classes for only six months. In addition to losing inches off her waist and thighs, the fat also disappeared from her breasts. She had an enlargement with implants combined with a lift. The results are very impressive.

Photo #5

Emma is a 33 year old patient. You can clearly see the breasts drooping in the before shot. The nipple is below the horizontal breast fold. After the operation you can see the scarring beginning to fade and her breasts sitting in a more favorable position.

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